duncan228
09-07-2007, 10:49 PM
http://www.insidebayarea.com/warriors/ci_6825614
Greedy Nelson has Warriors in quite a pickle
Column by Monte Poole
THAT THE WARRIORS and Don Nelson's agent have spent the summer squabbling over the details of a new deal displeases the coach, annoys team officials and irritates those fans not profoundly disgusted.
But we know how this is going to end. Nelson, unable to resist the $5.1 million allotted to him, eventually will return, after which the organization will try to thrive despite the disharmony.
In the meantime, we have incremental progress toward resolution. And animosity all around.
The Warriors can be blamed because one springtime revival is not enough to erase a dozen years of despair. They still have to prove they can survive the worst of themselves, as well as even the slightest signs of prosperity.
Nelson can be blamed because he is shamelessly exploiting the slim glimmer of hope he engineered through April and May. Being under contract has not prevented him from threatening to take his whistle and go home.
It's no surprise Nelson has his grubby hands out. The one thing he does better than coach is chase a buck. He doesn't stop until his tongue hangs out, never minding that his untempered greed has affected more than a few relationships. Nelson is a brilliant, even diabolical, strategist equally adept at squeezing every ounce from flawed teams and desperate owners. To be anything more he would have to win a championship.
So here we are, 24 days before the Warriors are scheduled to open camp, and the coach is firmly entrenched in business mode. Demand for his work is high, and he is no mood to sacrifice, not even for good buddy Chris Mullin.Which puts Warriors owner Chris Cohan in a prickly — and predictable — fix. He surely knows Nelson well enough to have anticipated this predicament. There were money grabs last time Nelson was in Oakland, as was the case in New York and then Dallas.
Cohan and Co. can hand the contract paperwork to Nelson's agent, John O'Connor, and allow the attorney to fill in the desired terms. Cohan and his partners can sign off and immediately grab pillows to muffle their screams.
Or Cohan and Co. can say "a contract is a contract" and dare Nelson to walk away from $5.1 million.
While I believe Nelson would get over leaving Mully 10 minutes to find a replacement, I doubt he could live with seeing that kind of loot float away.
But the risk might be too big for the Warriors to take. If Cohan and chief negotiator Bobby Rowell were to lose Nelson, they would be advised to sell the team, or leave the Bay Area, or get himself nicked and tucked beyond recognition.
Or all three, just to be safe.
Not much of an option, is it?
It's almost insignificant that Nelson fired the first shot, using his final news conference of the season to point out extreme fatigue, his bulging belly, his spirited battle with gout and the difficulty with deciding whether, at age 67, he wanted to put himself through another year of coaching.
Rest sounded pretty good and retirement, he implied, was conceivable.
In any case, he needed a few weeks to ponder whether, at age 67, he was up to the demands and the travel of another six- or seven-month grind.
He imposed upon himself a "deadline" of July 1, which came and went without a decision. The month of July rolled past, as did August. September is when players start mentally preparing for training camp.
And when coaches start making plans.
If I were the Warriors, I'd do as they are. Make a strong offer — sources say Nelson would be the seventh-highest paid coach in the NBA — and be willing to make it stronger as we approach the Oct. 1 opening of camp.
Insofar as the Warriors once gave Mike Dunleavy $44 million, praying against logic that he would grow into it, this is the least they could do.
"We're still talking," Rowell said Thursday. "All I can say is progress is being made."
When a multimillion-dollar franchise faces off against a greedy coach, there is no sympathetic figure. But while Nelson can't lose, the only way Cohan can win is to make the deal and be rewarded with another trip to the playoffs.
Pay the man and resent him for as long as the checks are printed? Or slam the door and forever detest him, while loathing yourself for inviting him?
The problem with playing this game is the Dubs could end up like Al Davis and the Raiders, whose situation after the 2001 season was somewhat similar to that facing the Warriors now.
A defective organization seemed to find its way, with much, if not all, of the credit winding up in the lap of the coach. As Nelson has done for the Warriors, Jon Gruden made the Raiders matter again.
After several attempts to negotiate a contract extension with Gruden, several sources said an agreement was reached — only to have some of the terms changed just prior to presenting the deal.
Gruden and his agent, stunned by the changes, backed off.
Davis responded not by reopening negotiations but by trading Gruden to another team.
We all know how that worked out.
Greedy Nelson has Warriors in quite a pickle
Column by Monte Poole
THAT THE WARRIORS and Don Nelson's agent have spent the summer squabbling over the details of a new deal displeases the coach, annoys team officials and irritates those fans not profoundly disgusted.
But we know how this is going to end. Nelson, unable to resist the $5.1 million allotted to him, eventually will return, after which the organization will try to thrive despite the disharmony.
In the meantime, we have incremental progress toward resolution. And animosity all around.
The Warriors can be blamed because one springtime revival is not enough to erase a dozen years of despair. They still have to prove they can survive the worst of themselves, as well as even the slightest signs of prosperity.
Nelson can be blamed because he is shamelessly exploiting the slim glimmer of hope he engineered through April and May. Being under contract has not prevented him from threatening to take his whistle and go home.
It's no surprise Nelson has his grubby hands out. The one thing he does better than coach is chase a buck. He doesn't stop until his tongue hangs out, never minding that his untempered greed has affected more than a few relationships. Nelson is a brilliant, even diabolical, strategist equally adept at squeezing every ounce from flawed teams and desperate owners. To be anything more he would have to win a championship.
So here we are, 24 days before the Warriors are scheduled to open camp, and the coach is firmly entrenched in business mode. Demand for his work is high, and he is no mood to sacrifice, not even for good buddy Chris Mullin.Which puts Warriors owner Chris Cohan in a prickly — and predictable — fix. He surely knows Nelson well enough to have anticipated this predicament. There were money grabs last time Nelson was in Oakland, as was the case in New York and then Dallas.
Cohan and Co. can hand the contract paperwork to Nelson's agent, John O'Connor, and allow the attorney to fill in the desired terms. Cohan and his partners can sign off and immediately grab pillows to muffle their screams.
Or Cohan and Co. can say "a contract is a contract" and dare Nelson to walk away from $5.1 million.
While I believe Nelson would get over leaving Mully 10 minutes to find a replacement, I doubt he could live with seeing that kind of loot float away.
But the risk might be too big for the Warriors to take. If Cohan and chief negotiator Bobby Rowell were to lose Nelson, they would be advised to sell the team, or leave the Bay Area, or get himself nicked and tucked beyond recognition.
Or all three, just to be safe.
Not much of an option, is it?
It's almost insignificant that Nelson fired the first shot, using his final news conference of the season to point out extreme fatigue, his bulging belly, his spirited battle with gout and the difficulty with deciding whether, at age 67, he wanted to put himself through another year of coaching.
Rest sounded pretty good and retirement, he implied, was conceivable.
In any case, he needed a few weeks to ponder whether, at age 67, he was up to the demands and the travel of another six- or seven-month grind.
He imposed upon himself a "deadline" of July 1, which came and went without a decision. The month of July rolled past, as did August. September is when players start mentally preparing for training camp.
And when coaches start making plans.
If I were the Warriors, I'd do as they are. Make a strong offer — sources say Nelson would be the seventh-highest paid coach in the NBA — and be willing to make it stronger as we approach the Oct. 1 opening of camp.
Insofar as the Warriors once gave Mike Dunleavy $44 million, praying against logic that he would grow into it, this is the least they could do.
"We're still talking," Rowell said Thursday. "All I can say is progress is being made."
When a multimillion-dollar franchise faces off against a greedy coach, there is no sympathetic figure. But while Nelson can't lose, the only way Cohan can win is to make the deal and be rewarded with another trip to the playoffs.
Pay the man and resent him for as long as the checks are printed? Or slam the door and forever detest him, while loathing yourself for inviting him?
The problem with playing this game is the Dubs could end up like Al Davis and the Raiders, whose situation after the 2001 season was somewhat similar to that facing the Warriors now.
A defective organization seemed to find its way, with much, if not all, of the credit winding up in the lap of the coach. As Nelson has done for the Warriors, Jon Gruden made the Raiders matter again.
After several attempts to negotiate a contract extension with Gruden, several sources said an agreement was reached — only to have some of the terms changed just prior to presenting the deal.
Gruden and his agent, stunned by the changes, backed off.
Davis responded not by reopening negotiations but by trading Gruden to another team.
We all know how that worked out.